Filling machine



H. R. LEWIS FILLING MACHINE Feb. 6, 1934.

Filed sept. 30, 1931 HMV I IllH- Patented Feb. 6, 1934 FILLING MACHINE Harold R. Lewis, Hoopeston, Ill., assignor to Food Machinery Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application September 30, 1931 Serial No. 566,113

1 Claim. (Cl. 226-103) This invention relates to a machine for lling rial from a measuring chamber is so directed and cans with liquids or mobile materials and is parcontrolled that residualr material remaining in ticularly adapted to the filling of the commercial the adjacent passages is always directed back into cans with the various liquid and semi-liquid subthe measuring chamber.

5 stances that are packed in cans. It is also an object of the inventionto provide 60 The improvement consists in means for conin a iilling machine a means for controlling the trolling the delivery of liquid and the manner iiow of material into a positioned can so that of directing its flow so that the measured quanno material will be directed to the filling nozzle tity going to each individual can will be more if a can is not present to receive it.

accurately measured. It is also an object of the invention to provide 65 This improvement is carried out by means of means for giving a sharp cut-off of flowing matedevices affected by the presence of a can and in rial when the complete charge has been delivthe angular direction of the flow passages to ered to a positioned can. y 1 Y always direct the material being handled in a Referring now to the drawing accompanying predetermined direction. this application it willbe seen how this im- 70 In the type of iilling machine to which this provement is applied to the well known type of improvement is applied there is a filling nozzle lling machine. that aligns with the can during the lling opera- Figure 1 represents a vertical section of a lilltion, and a plunger having vertical movement in ing machine that is shown very much in diathe nozzle for controlling the flow of material gram and is not intended to show all of the 75 through the nozzle. Also adjacent to the nozzle structural details, but does show very clearly the there is a measuring chamber into which mateposition and angularity .of the passage from the rial is admitted from a suitable source of supmeasuring chamber to the iilling nozzle and shows ply, and from which the measured material is one View of the device through which the pres- 25 discharged through the nozzle into a positioned ence of a can controls the `ow of material. 80

can. Figure 2 shows a plan somewhat in diagram Heretofore the passage from the measuring of another view of the mechanism operated by chamber to the filling nozzle has been an aperture a can for controlling the flow of material to with horizontally disposed walls, and it has the filling nozzle. l

been found in practice that the residue of ma- A iilling machine to which these improvements 85 terial always remaining in this passage could are applicable comprises a material tank 1, hav- 110W back m130 the measuring Chamber 01 it @Ould ing a series of filling nozzles 2 arranged around flow into the filling nozzle. When it flowed into its outer periphery, and with a cut off plunger the measuring chamber it made no difference 3 in each nozzle. Underneath the tank 1 are in the OHOWmg measured Charge, 01 inthe Charge a series of measuring chambers 4 with plungers 9o just placed in the positioned can, if, however, it 5, Passageways 6 and 7 and by-pass passagev 8 tended to flow into the can it varied the ll t0 provide a pathway for the material to flow from some extent. the tank 1 to the measuring chambers 4. The

The improvement disclosed by this applicaposition of the plunger 3 at the right of Fig. l1

tion corrects this condition and provides a means is the proper position for filling the measuring 95 whereby the residual material always in the paschamber 4 and is what may be termed the nor-l sage during the operation of the machine has a mal position of the plunger 3, while the position sharp cut-oli and the walls of the passage are of the plunger 3 at the left of Fig. 1 is the disinclined toward the measuring chamber so that charging position of the plunger 3 which per- 45. the iiow of this residual material will always be mits the measuredv charge of material to flow 100 toward the measuring chamber and thereby is from the measuring chamber 5 lthrough a pasobtained a more accurately measured charge in sage 7 into a positioned can. each can. j Heretofore the passageways 'i' have been posi- It is also absolutely essential that the control tioned horizontally, while my improvement poof the flow of material into the nozzle is by the sitions them at an inclination toward the measy105 presence of a can under the nozzle or the charge uring chamber 4. This inclined passageway preo material would be ejected onto the machine sents several important improvements in that it and totally lost. gives a more natural flow to the material and is 1t is therefore a principal object of the invenespecially advantageous when handling semiv tion to provide means whereby the ow of mateplastic material, the principal importance of the 110 improvement, however, resides in the fact that when the plunger 3 descends from the position at the left of Fig. 1 to its normal position as at the right of the View the material remaining in the passageway '7 is cut 01T from the filling nozzle by a sharp clean cut and immediately tends to flow back into the measuring chamber 4, while in the horizontal passageway heretofore used when the cut off took place some of the material would follow the plunger down into the nozzle,

being easily pulled out of the horizontal pas'- sageway by the plunger and thus adding a little additional material to each can,` and from the fact that this residue Varied more or less with each movement of a plunger it resulted in an uneven iill in the cans, whereas with the inclined passageway the uniformity of fill is very much improved. It can be seen that when the plunger 3 engages a semi-plastic material with the inclined passage that instead of cutting it there is some tendency for the material to squeeze back into the passage way, but this tendency will be uniform with any material so that the accuracy of fill is substantially uniform.`

When a can is missing from a filling nozzle it is necessary to prevent a movement of the plunger 3 .from its normal position at the right of the machine so that the charge of material in the measuring chamber will not be wasted. This condition is accomplished through a mechanism operated'by a can in position for filling.

. There are a great many-devices for accomplishing this result and the one shown to illustrate the operation is more orless diagrammatic but will clearly show what the operation is.

9 is a lever' that is moved slightly each time a can passes.- This lever is held normally in the path of a moving can by a spring 10. A link 11 connects with a swinging cam section 12 which is normally held away from its operative position as the dotted lines show in Fig. 2, but whenever a can is present under a filling nozzle the cam section 12 is positioned so the roller 13 will ride thereon and thus raise the plunger 3 to permit discharge of the material in the measuring chamber into the positioned can. If no can is present under a filling nozzle the cam section 12 is held in the dotted position and the roller 13 will pass under it and the plunger 3 will not be moved, so that as the plunger 5 in the measuring chamber 4 rises to discharge the measured charge therein the charge will be forced back into the tank froinwhence it came.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

An apparatus for measuring and delivering a iiowing material to a positioned container comprising a tank for a supply of material, a measuring chamber and a sliding cut-ofi valve, the tank, chamber `and cut-off valve havingY passages which are adapted to communicate to form a passageway from the'tank to the chamber, the end of said passageway adjacent said chamber being always open andphaving a downwardly-inclined wall so that residue material remaining in said aperture after passing a measured charge of material into a container will flow back into said measuring chamber.v

HAROLD R. LEWIS.k 

